Brittany Mahomes calls out the experts on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown for underestimating the Chiefs
The pregame panel leaned toward Denver, but Kansas City answered with a statement victory at Arrowhead
Brittany Mahomes didn't need a long caption to make her point after the Kansas City Chiefs opened the 2026 NFL season with a dominant win.
Before kickoff, several members of ESPN’s pregame crew had picked the Denver Broncos to beat Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium.
By the end of the night, the Chiefs had won 31-10, snapped a three-game losing streak to their division rival and looked far more balanced than they had for much of the previous season.
Brittany waited until afterward to revisit those predictions. She shared a screenshot showing Mike Greenberg, Dominique Foxworth, Tedy Bruschi and Rex Ryan all backing Denver and added a one-word message: “Oopsies.”
It was a playful jab, but it landed because of how thoroughly Kansas City had controlled the game.
Kansas City gave Brittany plenty to celebrate
The Chiefs finished with nearly 400 yards of offense while holding Denver to fewer than half that total. Patrick Mahomes , returning from the ACL and LCL injuries that ended his previous season, didn't have to carry the offense on his own.
Kansas City instead leaned heavily on new running back Kenneth Walker III , who immediately changed the shape of the attack. Walker rushed for 173 yards and scored twice in his Chiefs debut, including a 60-yard touchdown run.
That performance gave Mahomes the luxury of playing within the offense rather than having to create something extraordinary on every drive.
Kansas City’s defense also made life difficult for Denver, limiting the Broncos to 10 points and preventing them from finding any sustained rhythm.
The result made the pregame predictions look especially vulnerable once the final whistle arrived.
Mahomes comeback made moment even sweeter
The win carried extra significance for Brittany because it was Patrick’s first regular-season game since undergoing major knee surgery. Much of the offseason had been built around whether he would be ready for Week 1 at all.
Mahomes returned wearing a brace but looked comfortable enough to guide Kansas City through a convincing opening-night performance. The larger takeaway may have been how little the Chiefs needed him to dominate statistically.
Walker ’s arrival gave them a running threat capable of taking pressure off their quarterback, while the defense supplied the kind of control that allowed Kansas City to dictate the game.
One performance doesn't settle how good either team will be this season, but it gave the Chiefs exactly the kind of start they wanted. It also gave Brittany the chance to revisit what ESPN’s panel had said only a few hours earlier.
